Post Office Courier Union "Korea Post Headquarters Notified Contract Termination"... Begins Overnight Sit-in Protest

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[Asia Economy Reporters Donghoon Jeong, Trainee Reporter Youngwon Kim] The Post Office Delivery Workers' Union has condemned the Korea Post for retaliating with a 'contract termination' notice in response to demands for the implementation of a social agreement. After conducting a hunger strike in front of the Blue House for eight days, the union began a sit-in protest starting today.

On the 24th, the Korea Post Headquarters of the National Delivery Workers' Union under the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) held a press conference condemning the Korea Post in front of the Cheong Wa Dae Sarangchae in Hyoja-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, urging, "The Blue House must resolve the Korea Post's violation of the social agreement as a government agency."

The Delivery Workers' Union stated, "The Korea Post sent certified letters of contract termination to the heads of regional headquarters who started the hunger strike," adding, "To realize our reasonable and modest demands, we are beginning a sit-in protest from today." The certified letters sent by Korea Post to the union included a warning that if the recipients do not return to their workplaces within seven days of receipt, their contracts will be terminated.

Earlier, 15 members of the Korea Post Headquarters of the Delivery Workers' Union began a hunger strike on the 17th in protest against Korea Post's failure to implement the social agreement. Although Korea Post raised delivery fees by 170 won claiming to implement the social agreement, delivery workers are still performing sorting tasks, and fees have been cut under the pretext that sorting fees were already included in the existing wages.

Jinkyeongho, chairman of the Delivery Workers' Union, explained, "Since Korea Post explicitly agreed to fully accept and implement the social agreement in the collective bargaining agreement last February, it has legal effect," adding, "It is a situation where a government agency is ignoring this."

Regional heads participating in the hunger strike also voiced their opinions. An Junyoung, head of the Seosan branch of the Delivery Workers' Union Korea Post branch, asked, "Was the social agreement just a show-off agreement by the Blue House and the ruling party?" Lee Mungi, head of the Ulsan headquarters, demanded, "We ask the Blue House to take responsibility and resolve this by listening to the voices of the CJ Logistics workers who are also on hunger strike and ourselves."

The Delivery Workers' Union's demand for the implementation of the social agreement has continued since the general strike of the KCTU Delivery Workers' Union CJ Logistics Headquarters, which began on the 28th of last month. The CJ Logistics Delivery Workers' Union claims that the company has not properly implemented the social agreement and has taken about 60% of the delivery fee increase as profit.

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